Boyfriends-In-Law | Jayhoon [Ongoing]

1.3: Roses Of Regret

The moment Min Ryung tried to crack another nervous smile, all hell broke loose. Sunghoon, Jay, and the fourth boyfriend, began to raise their voices, drawing the attention of passersby.

"I can't believe you've done this!" Jay practically shouted, his usual calm demeanor shattered. "I was planning a birthday surprise for you, and this is what you've been doing behind our backs?"

Min Ryung flinched at the harsh words, but it was the fourth boyfriend who really took things up a notch. Disgust etched across his face, he reached out and snatched the shopping bags right out of her hands. "These are mine," he spat, his voice dripping with contempt. "I spent good money on you, but I'm done being played."

Min Ryung tried to protest, but her words were lost as the fourth boyfriend turned on his heel and began to walk away. Jay, in an almost comically spiteful move, tossed him one of the roses from his bouquet. "Here, keep this," he said with a smirk.

The fourth boyfriend caught it, glanced at it for a second, and then tossed a smirk back at Jay. "Thanks, man. Bye." With that, he disappeared into the crowd, leaving Min Ryung alone with her two remaining ex-boyfriends.

Sunghoon's eyes narrowed as he stared at her, the fury in his gaze making her want to shrink into herself. "You've got some real audacity to still stand here after all that," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Min Ryung opened her mouth to try to explain, to say something-anything-but the cold death glare Sunghoon gave her froze the words in her throat. Without another thought, she spun on her heel and bolted, her heels clicking furiously against the pavement as she fled the scene.

Jay watched her go, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Well, that went south fast," he tried to joke, but when he glanced over at Sunghoon, he realized the other guy wasn't laughing at all. In fact, Sunghoon was deadly silent.

But when Jay glanced over at Sunghoon, he was taken aback. Sunghoon stood there like a statue, his eyes glazed over, and a stream of tears running down his face. Jay's humor quickly turned to concern.

"Hey, hey, whoa, whoa!" Jay panicked, rushing over to Sunghoon. "Hey, are you okay?" Jay asked as he gently guided him to a nearby bench and sat down beside him. "Come on, sit down. Breathe."

Sunghoon sank onto the bench, his body trembling slightly as he struggled to hold himself together. Jay sat beside him, awkwardly patting his back. "It's alright, you don't have to be alone right now."

After a moment of silence, Jay reached into his bouquet, pulling out a handful of roses. "Here," he said, offering them to Sunghoon. "No point in wasting them. You can give some to your mom or something."

Sunghoon looked at the roses and managed a faint chuckle. The gesture helped him calm down a bit. "Thanks. I really didn't expect any of this. I was looking forward to a nice evening, and instead..."

Jay nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, me too. We both got a raw deal here."

Sunghoon spoke, his voice trembling. "I... I really thought she was the one, you know? This was supposed to be special. I planned everything so carefully, and now... Now I just feel like an idiot."

Jay sighed, understanding all too well. "I get it, man. I really do. I had this whole surprise set up for her birthday. I imagined how happy she'd be, how it would be this perfect moment. And now? It's all ruined."

Sunghoon sniffed, finally looking up at Jay. "How long did you say you two were together?"

"About six months," Jay replied, leaning back on the bench. "It wasn't that long, but I was all in. I even took time off work to plan this day. I kept thinking about our future, about all the things we'd do together... But I guess I was just fooling myself."